James Ἰάκωβος
Son of Zebedee, one of the Twelve Apostles
Biography
James, the son of Zebedee and brother of John, was one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. He was a fisherman by trade and was called by Jesus, along with his brother, to follow Him (Mat.4.21; Mrk.1.19). James, John, and Peter formed Jesus' inner circle and were present at significant events such as the Transfiguration (Mat.17.1; Mrk.9.2; Luk.9.28) and Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mrk.14.33). Jesus surnamed James and John "Boanerges," meaning "Sons of Thunder" (Mrk.3.17), possibly referring to their zealous and passionate nature. James and his brother also asked Jesus for positions of honor in His kingdom (Mrk.10.35-41). After Jesus' ascension, James continued to play a prominent role in the early church (Act.1.13). He was the first of the Twelve Apostles to be martyred, executed by Herod Agrippa I around 44 AD (Act.12.2).
Family
Parents
In Scripture
4 biblical books ; 4 with study contentMatthew 3 verses
- Matthew 4:21
"Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them."
Study Matthew → - Matthew 10:2
"Now the names of the twelve apostles are these. The first, Simon, who is called Peter; Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee; John, his brother;"
Study Matthew → - Matthew 17:1
"After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves."
Study Matthew →
Mark 5 verses
- Mark 1:19
"Going on a little further from there, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets."
Study Mark → - Mark 1:29
"Immediately, when they had come out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John."
Study Mark → - Mark 3:17
"James the son of Zebedee; and John, the brother of James, (whom he called Boanerges, which means, Sons of Thunder);"
Study Mark → - Mark 5:37
"He allowed no one to follow him, except Peter, James, and John the brother of James."
Study Mark → - Mark 9:2
"After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, and brought them up onto a high mountain privately by themselves, and he was changed into another form in front of them."
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Luke 5 verses
- Luke 5:10
"and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will be catching people alive.”"
Study Luke → - Luke 6:14
"Simon, whom he also named Peter; Andrew, his brother; James; John; Philip; Bartholomew;"
Study Luke → - Luke 8:51
"When he came to the house, he didn’t allow anyone to enter in, except Peter, John, James, the father of the child, and her mother."
Study Luke → - Luke 9:28
"About eight days after these sayings, he took with him Peter, John, and James, and went up onto the mountain to pray."
Study Luke → - Luke 9:54
"When his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from the sky, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?”"
Study Luke →
Acts 2 verses
- Acts 1:13
"When they had come in, they went up into the upper room where they were staying; that is Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James."
Study Acts → - Acts 12:2
"He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword."
Study Acts →
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Strong's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Greek | Ἰάκωβος | G2385G |